The condition of the greens and collars is the topic of considerable discussion amongst members.  The overall softness and playability are not desirable, and an outbreak of Pythium has severely damaged the collars.  In addition to this, the greens also have also suffered from anthracnose disease, which was only in the Poa but created some unsightly areas on a few greens.

The poor condition of the greens is the result of many contributing factors.  The weather has been extremely hot at times with afternoon temperatures reaching above 35 degrees, and the humidity is also abnormally high.  The irrigation water is very high in sodium and is described as “destructive” because of its ability to disperse the soil when present in elevated concentrations.  This dispersion of soil leads to a loss of pore spacing, poor gas exchange and water infiltration, adversely affecting the performance of the turf.  The Club and Manager are aggressively working on a solution to the Club’s water issues and the developments will be outlined in a further report this Friday.

Together the high temperatures and poor water quality have lead to the greens requiring large amounts of water just to keep them alive.  To help the turf retain water, wetting agent is usually injected in the irrigation water through a dosing unit.  Unfortunately, late in November, the aerator on the irrigation dam was struck by lightning, and it not only took out the aerator but damaged our dosing unit.  The unit had to be sent away for repair which took 8 weeks for the parts to arrive and the unit to return to site.  The dosing unit is now working and putting out the wetting agent, but it was out for the most critical point in the summer season.

Over the summer period, we have been without our Superintendent and mechanic.  To have two specialist positions unavailable through this period was very challenging, and the greenkeeping team did a marvelous job under the circumstances.  To aid in the shortfall in labour, Chris Farliw has joined the team on full time hours.  Chris has been provided by a labour hire company and will continue with our team as long as necessary. 

Two staff members from our Golf Operations team, Shane Turton and Peter Wahanui, are now working with the greenkeeping staff and proving to be very valuable in their efforts.  Peter is loving the new rough mower, and it may be hard to get him back to the Outside Service team.  I think he may have found his calling.

There are currently eleven staff working on the course which provides the labour required to fulfill the many tasks our course presents.  Our 2IC, Dan Wheeler, and 3IC, Trent Gilmore, are doing their best to present the course for the members.  Like all of us, they need access to expert advice on how to treat our current issues and get the course to the standard expected of Magenta Shores.

To assist the greenkeeping team, the Manager has sought advice from Golf NSW’s agronomist, Martyn Black.  Martyn has confirmed the challenges discussed earlier, and provided strategies for implementation.  In addition to this, the Manager will be meeting with Darryl Sellar and the Living Turf team of Consultants next week.  Darryl Sellar is one of the most respected agronomists in the industry, and Living Turf is a team of experts that take a scientific approach to greenkeeping.  The purpose of engaging Living Turf is to review all of our current course programs and write a new program to which would include renovation practices, chemical application and the implementation of their recommendations.  The intention is to have expert advice, access to testing and analysis, and programming to ensure execution.

Please see the link to the Living Turf Website for more information.

Although there are reasons for the condition of the course, in particular the greens, the course is not meeting the high expectations held by the Manager, Board, and Members. 

The damaged collars will be renovated this week by punching holes to increase airflow and promoting recovery.  The areas will also be dusted with sand to level the surface.  Renovations will continue as scheduled in March, and we would expect the bulk of the recovery to be post renovation.  Watering programs have been changed with overnight watering reduced, and more targeted hand watering applied.

Magenta Shores Golf Management is committed to producing a course in the condition expected of one of the premier courses in the country.  The expertise and resources required will be implemented to achieve our goals and overcome some of the issues that have burdened our course over recent years. 

I hope you find this information to be helpful and provide a better understanding of where the course is at and where it is heading.  I will have further information on the Club’s water strategy, Santa Ana overplanting and new machinery later this week, but this correspondence was to address the understandable concerns of the Members.

I encourage Members to please pick up the phone and give me a call, or better yet, come and have a chat over a coffee. 

 

Warm regards

 

Rob Hurley

General Manager

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